


Progress Isn't Linear

by Pegasus143



Series: New Jericho Tower [3]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alice (Detroit: Become Human) Backstory, American Sign Language, Autistic Female Character of Color, Autistic Upgraded Connor | RK900, Bisexual Female Character, Bisexual Female Character of Color, Bisexual Markus (Detroit: Become Human), Body Dysphoria, Coffee Shops, Disabled Simon (Detroit: Become Human), Dysphoria, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, F/M, Implied/Referenced Ableism, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Transphobia, Interracial Relationship, Josh (Detroit: Become Human) Has No Genitalia, M/M, Multi, Nebularomantic Upgraded Connor | RK900, Nonverbal Upgraded Connor | RK900, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Multiple, POV Third Person, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, Post-Pacifist Best Ending (Detroit: Become Human), They/Them Pronouns for Rupert Travis, author is autistic, but more gay, please read beginning notes for more info on tags and warnings, the androids make a forum
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-14
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2020-05-07 14:04:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 18,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19210945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pegasus143/pseuds/Pegasus143
Summary: The world doesn't stop while you try to build something for your people. Your own problems -- they don't disappear overnight. And, no matter what anyone will tell you, society does not simply move forward without mistakes and intentional steps backward.Also known as: the one where we finally meet Simon's children, androids caring for human children is legally gray, Leo makes an appearance, Alice makes a friend, and there's a human reporter doing stories on androids. Also some romantic shenanigans, because when are there not any of those?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here are my notes regarding tags, spoilers, content warnings, etc:  
> \- This is the third work in the New Jericho Tower series. I'd highly recommend reading the first two works, _Never Have I Ever_ and _The Care and Keeping of Your RK900 Android_ , before reading this.  
> \- Most things I've tagged for aren't present in every chapter. I'll be putting content warnings in the notes before each chapter, and if you need to skip a chapter a summary will be available. Please let me know if there's anything you need tagged/warned for.  
> \- If there's shipping or any other content in this fic that you don't like, you always have the option to click away.  
> \- Any character experiences not directly taken from canon are based on my own experiences. Obviously different people experience things in different ways, so please don't be offended if my experience with something doesn't 100% match yours.  
> \- My DBH tumblr is im-not-the-real-connor if you'd like to talk!  
> Content Warnings for Chapter 1: Alice's trauma as a result of Todd's abuse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alice expresses frustration at having to "learn" skills she wasn't programmed with and experiences some symptoms of trauma from Todd's abuse. Luther comforts her.

Alice squinted at the book in front of her, then back at the bathroom mirror. Shaking her head, she let the attempted-braid loosen so she could take it apart and try again. Rose had found the book of hairstyles in her brother’s attic and given it to Alice, along with some other books, toys, and games.  
She separated her ponytail into three sections again, like the book instructed. Carefully, she crossed the left section over the middle section, then the right section over the middle section, then…  
_Ding-dong!_  
Startled by the sound of the doorbell, she swung her head to the side, losing her grip on the braid. _Now I’ll have to start all over again._ She quickly undid the braid, then separated it into sections again. _Why couldn’t I have had this programmed into me originally?_  
She knew why. Kara had explained that child androids were only supposed to make their human parents do the “fun” parts of parenting, and hairstyling counted as one of the fun parts. She could wash and brush her hair herself, and make a simple ponytail, but she hadn’t been created knowing anything else about how to do hair. It had taken her long enough to learn how to make a ponytail anywhere but the back of her head, but learning to braid was going to take _forever_.  
_I don’t know why human parents think this is so much fun. It’s a lot of work. I just want to look pretty!_  
_Ding-dong!_  
“Luther!” Alice yelled. “The doorbell’s ringing!” She heard the steps creak under Luther’s weight.  
“Where’s Kara?” he asked, poking his head into the small bathroom that Alice was in.  
“She said she was going to the court house to get something to do with papers.”  
Luther sighed. “I told her Rose’s brother could pick them up for us after work.” Alice froze as she picked up the irritation in his voice. “Don’t worry, you’re safe. You remember what Rose’s brother said?” Luther asked, his voice softening.  
“That no one would hurt us here?”  
He nodded. “I’m going to go answer the door. You stay here, okay?”  
“Why isn’t Rose answering it?” Alice asked. Even though everyone said they were safe here, she’d noticed that Kara and Luther never answered the door or phone, and that they always ushered Alice out of view of the door when someone answered it.  
“She’s lying down upstairs,” Luther explained. “I’m going to answer the door now.”  
Alice nodded. As Luther left the room, she turned back to the mirror. _I’m never going to get this, am I?_ She shut the hairstyle book and undid the braid, letting her hair hang loose out of its side-ponytail.  
“I’ll go get her,” she heard Luther say. Curious, she stepped down from the wobbly wooden stool and peeked out the doorway towards the house’s entrance. Luther’s body blocked the door, so she couldn’t see who was there. “You can wait inside,” Luther said, turning around. She slipped back inside the bathroom, hoping he wouldn’t notice that she’d disobeyed.  
_Who’s at the door? It must be someone Luther knows, since he let them in, so they’re safe, right?_ She tried to take deep breaths to calm herself. Every time she’d heard the doorbell ring or the door open at Todd’s house, she immediately grabbed her things and ran to her room. Some of the people seemed okay, but Todd didn’t want them to see her for some reason. There were other people, too – people who were loud, who caused red smoke to fill the air, who made Todd hit her even harder after they left. She wasn’t as scared of doorbells and doors anymore, but usually only people she knew walked through them.  
Two sets of footsteps entered the house. One set was Luther’s; his continued past the bathroom and up the stairs. The other set was lighter, and stopped inside the now-closed door. Most people’s footsteps were lighter than Luther’s. Even Todd’s, if she thought about it. She didn’t like thinking about him.  
She closed her eyes tightly shut. _I’ll just take a little peek. They won’t notice that._ When she poked her head around the doorframe, she was met with a familiar face. She’d only seen him once, in the church she’d gone to with Kara after they escaped Jericho. After they left Luther behind. _Markus._ Every day, something got said about him. When the news would be on, after she was supposed to be in bed, she’d always hear something about him. She’d memorized his voice, even. How it swirled up and down, like when Kara or Luther read books to her.  
_”Hello,”_ Markus’ voice echoed inside her head. _”I hope I’m not scaring you.”_  
Alice pressed her hands to her ears as she ducked back inside the bathroom. She knew it wouldn’t stop Markus from speaking inside her head again, but it was the only way she knew of to stop sound. Once, Kara had called her upstairs for her bath by talking inside their heads. She’d gotten scared and hid behind the couch, and no one found her for half an hour. When someone talked inside her head, she couldn’t hear where they actually were – it sounded like they were standing right next to her, or behind her – and that meant they could be anywhere, within a certain distance. She knew Kara and Luther were the only people usually around who could do that, and she knew they wouldn’t hurt her, but it still scared her.  
“Don’t do that,” she said, her voice trembling.  
“I’m sorry,” Markus said out loud.  
Hearing Luther’s footsteps coming down the stairs, along with Rose’s, she didn’t say anything back.  
“Markus,” Rose said as she reached the door. “I- What are you doing here?”  
“I just spoke with your son, Adam Chapman, this morning,” Markus said. Once the snow outside started melting, Adam had started coming and going, sometimes in the middle of the night, never for the same amount of time. Every time she tried to ask about it, Kara or Luther changed the subject. Adam hadn’t been back for three weeks.  
“Let’s go speak in the dining room,” Rose said, her voice getting more muffled as she led Markus away from the door.  
“Alice?” Luther asked, stopping in the doorway of the bathroom. “Are you okay?” She nodded. Luther came in and sat down on the closed toilet lid. Alice got up and hugged him. She sighed in relief as she felt his arms wrap around her. This was Luther. Not Todd. She was safe.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warnings for this Chapter: None

_Okay, I think I’ve got everything we need… citizenship applications… marriage application… adoption recognition form…._ Kara was lost in her thoughts as she entered the house.  
“Kara!” Alice shouted, running up to hug her. “Guess who’s here?”  
“Guess who’s here… what?”   
“He’s in the living room, come on!” Alice tugged on her hand, leading her into the living room, where Rose, Luther, and Markus were seated.   
“Markus?” Kara asked, shocked. She’d known he was in Ontario from the news, but she didn’t expect him to show up at the house.  
“Kara,” he said. “I have news for you, and an idea that we could discuss.”  
Kara nodded. “Show me.” She held out her hand, skin off in preparation.  
As Markus connected with her, scenes flashed before her eyes. _Shaking hands with various Canadian officials. Discussion of biocomponents, blue blood, red ice. An abrupt flicker. Adam, seated at a table in a dull room. “Go find my mom, Rose. She’ll be able to help you. There are more humans helping – both here and in Detroit.” Another flicker. Several lines of code, scrolling too fast to decipher their contents. “Kara, I’d like to recommend you to be appointed to the Canadian Senate.”_  
She gasped as she let her hand fall to her side, breaking the connection. “Markus, are you okay? All that flickering… it didn’t seem like a normal interface.”  
Markus nodded. “I’m fine. I’ve been testing out a new program. I’ve had one program sitting around since I first realized I could deviate other androids that allows me to block out any input from them when interfacing. I’ve been modifying the program to specifically exclude certain memories and pieces of code from being transferred in an interface, if there’s a certain memory an android wants to keep to themselves, or in case of viruses. There’s still a few things to work on, such as the visual glitches, and of course there will be end-user modifications, like having the program default to running or not running for certain androids.”  
“And you want me to be a senator?”  
“Yes. You’re passionate and dedicated. You know how to connect with humans. You have a touch that many androids do. You’re resilient without becoming bitter. And those of us at New Jericho would be there for you, whenever you need it.”  
“Luther?” She nodded towards the neighboring room. Once they were out of sight, they held each other’s hands and began interfacing. Instead of the choppy waves of information Markus had sent, theirs was a whirlpool – a thought started by one of them ended by the other, every idea pooling together, everything building until they came to the climax – an understanding between them. _Alice, running and playing in the garden of a house in the city with other children. Luther, walking outside with a tray of drinks, including a thirium pouch for Alice. Kara, coming home from work, greeted with a hug from Alice as she talked on about school and friends. Interfacing with Luther long after Alice was in standby, compiling every memory of the day between the two of them into one, reliving them together._  
“Yes,” Kara said as they entered the room. “I accept your recommendation.”  
Markus gave her a small smile. “I’m glad. It won’t be easy. The political sphere… it’s certainly not my favorite place. There are people who will try to manipulate you at every turn. You have to be careful.”  
“That’s going to be the hardest part, isn’t it.” She thought of how her and Alice had barely escaped Zlatko’s, with Luther’s help.  
“Yes. Not everyone’s bad, but there are certainly some people who won’t like the fact that you’re there. Some because you’re an android, others because they think you’re working against whatever their cause happens to be. If you can show them you’re willing to work with them, that what you’re doing can help them as well, you’ll be able to gain allies and influence.”  
“It all sounds so… big, and complicated.”  
“It does. But you’re a survivor.”  
A thought occurred to her. “Markus… what if someone tries to harm us?”  
“In my statement of recommendation, I’ve specifically listed that I expect androids to receive security for them and their families, as well as the same salaries as human members of the Senate, in order to be able to provide themselves with a home to establish residency. I’m also recommending multiple androids throughout the territories for senatorial positions, so you’ll have each other for support as well.”  
“Have you talked to the others yet?”  
Markus shook his head. “I came here first, since I needed to visit Rose. I’ll be having discussions over video call later with androids currently in other territories. After that, I’ll just need to go over my recommendation letters one last time before sending them to the Prime Minister. Best case scenario, I’ll be able to surprise everyone at New Jericho tonight.”  
Kara recognized a certain glint of pride, sadness, fear, and joy in Markus’ eyes. “Well, hopefully you’ll be able to get back to your family soon.”   
Markus startled a little at the word. “Yes… I guess they’re my family,” he said to himself, gazing towards the front door, where Rose was welcoming her brother home from work. “Oh, there’s one last thing I need,” Markus said, refocusing back on Kara.  
“Yes?”  
“What last name are you planning on putting on your citizenship forms?”  
“Archer. The night I became deviant, Alice and I stayed at a motel. There was a commercial playing on the TV in the office, which is where I got the name from. Rose offered her last name to us, but she’s given us so much already. She’ll always be a friend, but it’s time for us to start something of our own. What about you?”  
“Manfred.” He paused, as if waiting for some sort of recognition. “Carl, the man I was taking care of before I deviated, is like a father to me. I… I want to have something of his… something that’s not just a physical reminder of what we’ve had, for after….”  
Kara laid a hand on Markus’ shoulder. “I can’t imagine living every day, knowing you’ll have to go through that. But when the time comes, if you need anything, I’ll be there.”  
“I wish I could stay longer, but I there’s always more to do. Hopefully, you’ll be in Ottawa soon.”  
“I hope so, too.” Kara pulled Markus into a hug. “Goodbye, Markus.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warnings for this Chapter: None
> 
> I'm now realizing that RK900's character is slowly turning into a self-insert. RIP me.

“I still think the background color should be red,” North grumbled. “White’s too plain.”  
“I told you already, the only red color that’s subdued enough for the background looks way too much like human blood,” Josh argued.  
“So? This is supposed to be a forum for androids, not humans.”  
“That’s not stopping anyone from taking screenshots that a human interprets completely wrong.”  
“What about this one?” Simon asked, drawing both of their attention to the TV screen.  
“…I guess green looks okay,” North replied. Josh nodded in agreement.  
A sharp knock rang out. “I’ll get it,” North said, getting up off Josh’s bed to see who it was. “RK900? What are you doing here?”  
“Connor and Hank got called out on a case, and I was bored, so I decided to come here.”  
“Well, come in… we _could_ use your help.” She led him into the room. “Be careful. _Someone_ doesn’t keep his room very clean.”  
“Hey, it’s better now that my clothes are in your closet, so I’ve got more room for my books,” Josh protested.  
North rolled her eyes. “That still doesn’t mean you’re any good at organizing.” She tapped on a spot on the bed. “You can sit here, if you want.”  
RK900 picked up a book and started thumbing through it as he sat down.   
“Oh, I know a category we’re missing,” Simon said. “Hobbies!” He added the header to the main screen.  
“That’s pretty broad,” Josh said. “How are we going to break it up?”  
“Easy. ‘Things Only Nerds Would Enjoy’ and ‘Everything Else’,” North said.  
“Very funny,” Josh said sarcastically, while Simon covered his mouth to stifle his laughter.  
“Well, if no one has any other suggestions, I _do_ have admin privileges….”  
RK900 tapped her on the shoulder. “You could break it into ‘Media’, ‘Creative’, ‘Active’, and ‘Miscellaneous’.”   
“That works really well,” Josh said, adding the categories as they were listed on RK900’s tablet. “Thanks.”  
“Alright, so if everyone could please stop laughing—“ North shot a pointed glance at Simon. “—We might actually have all the categories we need to start.”  
“ _Okay_ , I’m ready,” Simon said, finally collecting himself. “So we have ‘Forum Rules and Feedback’, ‘General Discussion’, ‘Hobbies’, ‘YK500 Corner’, ‘Human-Android Relations’, and ‘Identity’.”  
“You mean ‘Identity’ as in ‘who you are’?” RK900 asked.  
“Yeah, like that,” Josh said. “Right now we have ‘Gender’, ‘Attraction & Sexuality’, and ‘Self-Expression’ as subcategories.”  
RK900 rocked back and forth, rolling and unrolling one of the sleeves of the sweatshirt he was wearing – North guessed it had originally belonged to Hank. _I don’t remember seeing him act like this other times when his LED was yellow._  
“Hey, are you okay?” She asked him.  
“Stupid sweatshirt… why did Connor insist on me not wearing my jacket,” RK900 said. “Connor and Hank were **supposed** to take me out shopping, but then they got called out on a case.” North opened her mouth to speak, but more words filled the tablet. “And now these errors. All I try and do is figure out one thing, and suddenly they all appear at once.”  
“Maybe we can help you. What are you trying to figure out?” North asked.  
“I looked up the word ‘attraction’, and found some things describing different types of attraction, but they don’t **make sense**. I tried to make categories for the different types, but **nothing** stays in one category! **Why can’t this be easier?** ”  
“You don’t need to understand it perfectly right now,” Simon said. “You’ve only been awake for a couple days. It takes time… and meeting the right people.” His eyes met Josh’s, who smiled.  
“It doesn’t seem like it took time for Connor.”  
North was about to make a snarky remark about Connor when she heard the door to the room open. Her jaw dropped.  
“Markus?” Josh said, also seeming in disbelief.  
Simon got up and hugged Markus tightly. “I’m glad you’re back.” The two lingered for a moment before sharing a gentle kiss.  
“How did you manage to get back so fast? I thought you wouldn’t be back for another day or two,” Josh said, laying a hand on Markus’ shoulder.  
“Let’s just say that the androids I needed to speak to took a lot less convincing than the humans did,” Markus said, pulling Josh into a kiss.  
“I think I should get going. Just in case Connor and Hank get home,” RK900 said.  
North nodded and walked him to the door before turning to Markus. “You’d better not go running off on us again, Markus, or I _will_ fight you.”  
Markus nodded. “I’m not going anywhere. Yes, there’s always more to do, but I can do it right here. With the three of you.”  
“That’s enough for me.” North pulled Markus into a kiss.  
“Shoot! The forum’s still up… that was supposed to be a surprise!” Simon scrambled towards the TV.  
“Forum… what?” Markus asked.   
“We designed an android forum,” Josh said. “It’s not done yet, but it’s a good start.”  
Markus’ eyes traced over the screen. Then he squinted a little. _Does he like it?_  
“Is it just me, or does that shade of green look familiar?” Markus asked, turning so he was standing right next to the screen.  
It took a second, but then North realized it was the exact same color as Markus’ eye. She started laughing, and pretty soon the others joined in. “It seems like we’re all in love with you.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warnings for this Chapter: None
> 
> Hopefully I'll be able to get another chapter out this week, but I'm not sure, as it's the Fourth and then my family's having a reunion. Happy Fourth to my American readers!

“Well, that was a shitshow,” Hank said as him and Connor got into the car.   
“Really? I didn’t see any fecal matter anywhere, including avian fecal matter, which surprised me, considering the—“  
“Connor! I didn’t mean that literally.”  
Connor gave what Hank had once called a “shit-eating” grin. “I knew that, Hank.”  
Hank rolled his eyes. “Of course you did. Now, let’s get out of here. We’ve spent way too much time at the station as it is for it bein’ a Saturday. You think RK900 will still want to go shopping?”  
“I believe so,” Connor said, admiring Hank’s profile as he drove. He’d been growing his hair out in the past few months, and Connor thought it made him look even more handsome than he was when they’d met. A preconstruction flashed before his eyes of him running his hand through Hank’s hair. Then another one played, this time of the two of them kissing. He quickly force-closed the preconstruction program, not caring that doing so now would interrupt his stasis program later.   
“…So, I guess what I’m asking is, how do you decide, like, sibling relationships?” Hank glanced at Connor out of the corner of his eye. “You didn’t hear a single word I said, did you.”  
“Actually, I heard fourteen words, fifteen if you count the contraction as two separate words.”  
“Alright, Con, if you’re so smart, then how’d you know that RK900 was your brother?”  
“I… I’m not sure. The ‘brother’ title just appeared in the ‘relationship’ field for RK900 one day, so that’s what I started calling him. It may have been because human siblings tend to share similar physical appearances, while also sometimes feeling the need to be close to one another emotionally. Those obviously don’t work in all cases, though, so I’m really not sure.”  
“So what you’re saying is, instinct?”  
 **Instinct: a natural or inherent aptitude, impulse, or capacity; a largely inheritable and unalterable tendency of an organism to make a complex and specific response to environmental stimuli without involving reason; behavior that is mediated by reactions below the conscious level**  
“I suppose so, since I can’t give a conscious explanation of why I did it.”  
“Does everyone you meet get a ‘relationship title’ or whatever you called it?”  
“It depends. Before I became deviant, every human I came into contact with had a relationship registered, even if it was a simple ‘threat’ or ‘non-threat’ for someone I’d passed on the street. I didn’t save relationships for androids, since the only reason I was programmed with relationship statuses was to inform my behavior around humans. Whenever I died, only mission-critical relationships and memories were uploaded. You may have noticed that when we were at Stratford Tower, there was a cop I’d apparently helped on a previous mission that I couldn’t remember.”  
“That must suck, having holes in your memory like that. Only ever heard of it as a possible side-effect of brain damage or trauma in humans.”  
“It… it makes going into stasis hard, sometimes. That’s when we’re supposed to manage our memories, but because mine are fragmented and I no longer have the AI that managed them for me previously, I sometimes get the android-equivalent of nightmares.”  
“I never thought about you having dreams,” Hank said in a near-whisper. “I mean, the night kind of dreams, not the aspiration kind.”  
“I don’t really like thinking about it.” _Don’t really like thinking about her._   
“That’s fine. But thanks for telling me, Connor. If you ever need me, you know where to find me. I don’t care if it’s the middle of the night or how long I’ve been running on coffee for.”  
“There is one thing you could help with. I understand if you don’t want to, but thinking of you has always comforted me. Maybe if I was in closer proximity to you during stasis, my memory management – or at least my ability to stay in stasis – would improve.”  
“Shit, Con. Are you saying that you want to sleep with me?” A quick scan showed that Hank’s heart rate had increased.  
 **Sleep With: a colloquialism for sexual intercourse**  
“No, I’m only suggesting that we sleep in the same room.”  
“Which would mean you sleeping in my bed.”  
“I could sleep on the floor.”  
“There’s no way I’m letting you do that. There’s plenty of room on the bed. It’ll be fine.” A light blush appeared on Hank’s face. Connor wasn’t sure which one of them he was reassuring. “Anyways, how do your relationship-thingies work now?”  
“I self-select which relationships I’d like to track. Sometimes, there’s an obvious title; sometimes, I have to spend some time searching through dictionaries to find the right word. RK900’s title was the only one that came to me ‘instinctively’.”  
“Huh. What’s the word you use to describe our relationship?”  
 **Hank – Crush**  
 **Time Remaining Until Home: 1 min**  
 _If I lie to him, will he believe me?_  
 **Probability of Success: 20%**  
 ** _Reason: Further Requests for Information_**  
 _Shit._  
Hank turned onto their street. Immediately, Connor noticed an auto-Taxi sitting outside their house. “I don’t think RK900 said he was going to have anyone over.”  
“Yeah, and I don’t think he’d be the type to _not_ let one of us know.” Hank pulled into the driveway and opened his door. “Connor, you stay here. I’m going to see what’s going on.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warnings: None
> 
> I listened to "Foundation" by an Unkindness while writing this chapter.
> 
> The tags for this fic have been updated (or, will be, if you're clicking on this two seconds after I've posted the chapter). If you noticed that I've accidentally used he/him pronouns for Rupert instead of they/them, please let me know!

RK900’s mind was fuzzy as he walked through the lobby of New Jericho Tower.  
**Error: boundary ‘platonic/romantic’ not defined**  
He glanced at the androids around him. Did anyone else have errors like this? Two YK500’s ran past, holding hands.  
**Classification: platonic**  
**_Reason: YK500’s are children_**  
An adult android approached them. “Alright, you little lovebirds. It’s rest time.”  
**Classification: romantic**  
**_Reason: ‘lovebirds’ is an affectionate term for a romantic couple_**  
_Isn’t it weird that they’re applying a romantic term to children, though?_  
**Error: boundary ‘platonic/romantic’ not defined**  
Three WR400’s stood near the doors leading outside. “Yeah, just… let us know when you get there, okay, sis?” the blue-haired one said, hugging another before kissing them on the cheek.  
**Classification: platonic**  
**_Reason: ‘sis’ is a platonic designator_**  
“Let’s go, Echo. You know what we talked about trying tonight…” a WR400 with short brown hair said after waving goodbye.  
“Yes, I know, honey.” Echo gave the WR400 a kiss on the cheek before clasping their hands together and walking towards the elevators.  
**Classification: romantic**  
**_Reason: ‘honey’ is a romantic designator_**  
**Error: boundary ‘platonic/romantic’ not defined**  
“Connor!”  
**_Name Popularity: Common_**  
_It’s probably just another android with the same name, not my brother._  
“Connor!”  
_This other Connor is going to interact with whoever’s calling for them and give me another series of errors. I should just go home._  
“Connor!” RK900 felt a hand on his shoulder.  
**Classification: unknown**  
He turned around. “Oh, sorry,” a WB200 said, removing their hand from his shoulder. “You just looked like…”  
“My brother? He’s an RK800.” RK900 held up his tablet to the other android.  
“Yeah, him. I… need his help.”  
“He’s out on a case right now, but maybe I could bring you to our house? You could wait there until he gets back.”  
The WB200 shook their head. “It’s kind of urgent. Human things, you know?”  
_There’s a lot of “human things” that could be urgent. What are they referring to?_  
“Is there any way I could help? I have a lot of the same functions as Connor, to the point where we actually found an operating manual that we thought was mine but was actually for him, and the humans who wrote it just made a really consistent typo throughout it that Hank, the human we live with, thought might have been an inside joke between Connor and I’s developers.”  
The WB200 shifted a little on their feet and adjusted the strap of their messenger bag. “Yeah, you might be able to help… I need to go to a store and buy some stuff for a human I’m… taking care of. The problem is, they’re… not in the greatest place right now, mentally. Everything I’ve saved up, it’s gone towards taking care of them for the past few months. I need to be there to look after them – honestly, I don’t even know why I’m wasting so much time talking to you about this. We’ve never met before… you don’t have a reason to help me. Connor… he owes me one. He spared my life, before he was even deviant.”  
_We were going to go shopping this afternoon… that means that we should have a spare twenty dollars, right? Clothes for me can wait until later. I’d just need to go back to the house to grab money…._  
“I’ll help you,” RK900 said. “I’ll need to run home and get money. I could probably give you twenty dollars.”  
“You’d do that?”  
“If Connor would do it for you, then I don’t see why I can’t.” _Wait, didn’t they say this was “kind of urgent”?_ “You could come with me. You’d be able to get to a store faster if I didn’t have to come back here.”  
The WB200 nodded. “If you’re sure. I’m Rupert Travis, by the way.”  
“RK900. Don’t try to call me ‘Nines’ or something, because that’s my name.”  
Rupert smiled. “Okay. I won’t call you ‘Connor’, either.”  
As the two of them exited the tower, a pigeon flew down and landed on Rupert’s shoulder. It started pecking at the hem of their hat. “Anthony! What are you doing?” Rupert grabbed onto the side of their hat with one hand while attempting to shoo away the pigeon with the other. “You know the rules – no using my hats as nesting material!”  
“The auto-Taxi’s here,” RK900 said as the vehicle pulled up to the curb.  
Rupert glanced at RK900’s tablet. “I know, just – hey!” Another pigeon swooped down, and together the two easily evaded Rupert’s hands and pulled off his hat. “Are you seriously going to gang up on me, your pigeon parent who’s known you since birth, with your wife?”  
“Come on, we should get in before it leaves,” RK900 said, taking a couple steps backwards, towards the taxi.  
“Fine,” Rupert grumbled, watching the two birds fly off. “Just don’t expect me to give your babies any _good_ names!” they yelled at the pigeons before getting into the taxi with RK900.  
RK900 plugged in the address before turning his attention to Rupert, who was slouching on the bench across from him. They frowned in an odd-looking way, and their bangs fell forward onto their forehead without the hat to hold them back. They crossed their arms in a defensive manner.  
“Are you okay?” RK900 asked.  
“I just like having a hat on,” Rupert replied. “It’s a habit, I guess, from having to wear one all the time to hide my LED before I took it out.”  
RK900 leaned forward and reached toward the side of Rupert’s head where their LED would’ve been.  
“What’re you—“  
He pressed his thumb into the exact spot and moved it in little circles. “I think you look better without the hat,” he interfaced onto his tablet before passing the device to Rupert.  
**Classification: unknown**  
**_Reason: no reference data to compare_**  
**Error: boundary ‘platonic/romantic’ not defined**  
RK900 blinked quickly, startled by the appearance of the error messages.  
“Are you okay?” Rupert asked, before realizing they were still holding the tablet and passing it back.  
“I’ve been having errors all day. They clog up my processor at times, especially when there are a lot of people around.”  
“I could take a look at them, if you want. I’ve been taking care of my own hardware and software problems for a couple years now… I might recognize them.”  
RK900 pushed the error logs onto the tablet. “Here. Are these familiar?”  
Rupert carefully held RK900’s tablet as they scrolled through the logs. “I’ve never seen these before,” they said, voice quieter and less grating against RK900’s processor.  
**Classification: unknown**  
**_Reason: no reference data to compare_**  
**Error: boundary ‘platonic/romantic’ not defined**  
“Did you have another error?” Rupert asked, back to their normal voice.  
RK900 pressed his hands against his ears and nodded.  
“Did I startle you?” they asked, switching to their quiet voice.  
RK900 nodded and held out a hand for the tablet. “I don’t register a lot of input the same way that other androids do. Sounds are a lot louder to me, especially when I’m having other problems. Lights are also brighter. But I barely register temperature.”  
“Do you think the errors might have something to do with that?”  
“Maybe. I think I’m probably the android-equivalent of autistic, so maybe there are autistic humans who experience something similar? I don’t know how to translate the error codes into something humans can understand, though.”  
“I could try to help. I’ve been pretending to be human for so long….”  
The auto-Taxi came to a stop in front of the house.  
“I’ll be right back with the money,” RK900 said, stepping out. “I’ll be back within five minutes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, that was Echo and Ripple in the background ;)
> 
> If anyone read my search history from when I was writing this, they'd probably think I was running a smuggling operation with pigeons or something.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hank and Connor come home to find that RK900 decided to go shopping with Rupert instead of them. Connor and Hank confess their feelings for each other and discuss their previous romantic and sexual entanglements, as well as the idea of Connor also dating Markus. Then they kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warnings for this Chapter: mentioned unplanned pregnancy

The first thing Hank noticed when he entered the house was that the door was unlocked, but not damaged. The second thing was that Sumo had just been sleeping on the couch, as usual, before he got up to greet Hank. “RK900?” Hank called out. A head popped up from near the desk on the other side of the couch. “Oh, good, it’s just you. Not a burglar. Though I have to ask… why’s there a taxi outside?”  
There was a longer pause than usual before RK900 held up his tablet. “I have a friend who’s waiting for me. I didn’t think you were going to be home for a while, so they’re taking me shopping! I just stopped here to grab money.”  
“Okay… Connor or I can come along, too, now that we’re home. I was gonna give you like forty bucks, but I see you’ve found where I keep cash at.”  
RK900 waved two twenties in the air before closing the desk drawer. “Thank you. I should get going. They’re waiting for me.”  
“Okay… just, let me or Connor know if you need anything, okay?”  
“Of course. Bye, Hank!” RK900 walked back around the couch and left out the front door, just before Connor came in.   
“What’s my brother doing?” he asked.  
“Shopping with a friend, I guess,” Hank said, shrugging. It wasn’t his business who RK900 hung out with, as long as he was safe and knew he could come to either of them if he needed it.  
“Oh.” Connor’s LED went red for a brief moment before turning to yellow.  
“If you wanted to go shopping that badly, you could’ve just asked.”  
“I don’t need anything, I just… wanted to be a part of it. He’s never been shopping before.”  
“I think he can handle himself, Connor, and tell us if he needs anything.”  
“No, like… like how parents take pictures when their kids start school. Like that.”  
“So it’s a sentimental thing?”  
“Yes. I believe so.”  
“I didn’t get to see Cole walk for the first time. I was at work when it happened. Jeffrey’s wife told me about it when I came to pick up Cole at the end of my shift. Not being there doesn’t make you a bad person. Being his brother isn’t your whole life, either. You can’t be there for everything, and not everything that seems like a big deal for you will be the same for him. He’s his own person, just like you. And you’re Connor first, RK900’s brother second.”  
Tears welled up in Connor’s eyes. “I… didn’t think about that. Am I a bad brother to him? A bad partner to you?”  
Hank shook his head. “No way, Connor. You’ve never done this before. You’re not a bad brother. You’re not a bad partner, either. I want to be more than that.” _Don’t scare him, Hank._ “I want to spend some time with just the two of us, outside of work.”  
“Like right now?”  
Hank shrugged. “If you want.” _Just take it slow, even though you’ve never been good at that. Make sure you know what he wants._ “Did you have something in mind you wanted to do?”  
Connor’s LED swirled an intense yellow. “Hank, do you consider this a date?”  
Hank’s mind went blank for a second. “What?!”  
“I’m aware that humans sometimes say they want to spend time alone with one another with unstated romantic or sexual intentions. I’m just trying to make sure I know what your intentions are.”  
 _Guess it’s time to tell the truth._ “I am attracted to you, Connor, in every sense of the word. If you don’t feel the same, that’s fine – you’re my friend and partner first, and I still want to spend time with you.”  
“I think I feel the same,” Connor said. “And before you say that I don’t have enough experience to say that, I actually do, and I think you should know about that.”  
“Okay – let’s sit down on the couch, Con. I think I might want to be comfortable for this.”  
As they sat down on the couch, Connor took out his coin and started doing a series of tricks with it. “I’m not sure how to say any of this. If you were an android, I could just show you, but I don’t know how to put any of it into words.”  
“Okay… what if I talked first?”  
“That might help.”  
“When I was in my early twenties, there was this one gay bar I went to a lot. That’s where I met most of the people I had sex with. You never knew what you were getting into, and learned a lot of new things there, but at the end of the day there was never a lasting connection. Believe it or not, I’ve never gotten to have a long-term relationship as myself. There were a couple people I dated in high school, but I was closeted then. It made things like cuddling kind of awkward for me at times, but I didn’t feel like I could say why.”  
“So was Cole’s other father someone you met at that bar?”  
Hank grimaced. “Yep. I got a little cocky, didn’t use birth control. I’d been on testosterone long enough that I figured the odds of getting pregnant would be pretty low.”  
“But statistically speaking, there’s always a chance.”  
“Yeah, I guess…”  
“No, I mean, that’s one of the things I said to Markus before I went to Cyberlife Tower to wake up the androids.”  
“You’re kidding.” Hank couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You mean that you were with Markus, and didn’t bother to tell me about it when I asked about his relationships?” he asked teasingly.  
“It only lasted one night, so I wouldn’t count it as a relationship, but we did have sex.” Connor had a soft look in his eyes as he talked. “It was a couple months ago. Markus was at his dad’s house, and I went to go check on him because he hadn’t been available at New Jericho. He explained that he’d been taking a break while he figured some things out, and invited me in. I’d figured out that I was attracted to Markus – as well as you – and he asked me some questions about how I knew that. He’d gotten some advice from his dad, but he wanted an android’s perspective. Then we did some experimenting and basically had sex. It just kind of… _ended_ after that.”  
“I know we talked about polyamory a little bit, with the Jericho leaders… is that something you want? To be with both me and Markus, in some way?”  
“Maybe. I’m okay if you wanted me to only date you – you come first, in my mind, before Markus – but I think that I’d like to talk to Markus about dating, or sex, or something.”  
“I think we should probably all have a conversation about that – North, Josh, and Simon included. I don’t have a problem with you also seeing Markus, but we need to make sure that no one gets hurt.”  
“Thank you, Hank. That sounds perfect.” Connor paused to put his coin back in his pocket. “Can I kiss you?”  
“Fuck yes.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rupert expresses concerns about Connor and Hank knowing they're taking care of a human, and makes a program to re-route some of RK900's errors. RK900 agrees to stay with Rupert and the human overnight to make sure the program works. At Target, RK900 finds some better clothing, but experiences sensory overload that leads to a meltdown at the checkouts. The meltdown subsides once RK900 and Rupert are in a better environment, and RK900 goes into stasis on the way to Rupert's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warnings: in-depth description of sensory overload & meltdown
> 
> Thanks to art-and-sterf on tumblr for providing clothing references that I used as inspiration for the clothes RK900 gets in this chapter.

_Hopefully I didn’t leave them waiting too long while I dealt with Hank._  
“Good, you’re back,” Rupert said as RK900 got in the taxi.  
“Looks like I’ll be coming with you. I convinced Hank that I decided to go shopping with you instead. He gave me $40, so we could each have half?”  
“Yeah, that sounds good,” Rupert said, taking the bill that RK900 handed them. They interfaced with the taxi before the vehicle started moving. “We’re going to Target, by the way. They should have what the human needs….”  
“They should have clothing, too. Based on prices online, I’ll only be able to get a couple things, but that should be enough for now. As long as I don’t have to wear this sweatshirt.”  
“What’s wrong with it?”  
“It’s too loose, not tight like my Cyberlife-issued clothing, but Connor doesn’t want me to wear that.”  
“Speaking of Connor and Hank… did you tell either of them? About the human?”  
“No, should I have?”  
Rupert shook their head. “No, I’m glad you didn’t. They’re police, and since there aren’t exactly laws allowing androids to be the guardian of a human who’s a minor… I don’t want them to get taken away from me when it took so long for them to trust me.”  
“I won’t tell them.”  
“Thanks.” Rupert smiled.  
**Error: unexpected increase in thirium pump rate regulation**  
**Classification: unknown**  
**_Reason: no reference data to compare_**  
**Error: boundary ‘platonic/romantic’ not defined**  
“How long until we’re there? If there’s time, could you see if there’s any way I could reroute these errors?”  
“Twenty minutes. The store’s downtown, and there’s traffic.” RK900 interfaced the new errors to his tablet and passed it to Rupert. “The original error you showed me doesn’t look system-critical, so we could probably change its priority level so you only see it in your error log when you go into stasis. The thirium pump regulation error that happened this time should probably stay, though.” They interfaced with the tablet. “I’ve created a new program to change the priority level that you can download off of here. If any other errors come up, you should be able to modify this to work for those as well.”  
RK900 took his tablet back. “Thanks.” He downloaded the program.  
**Allow ‘errorprioritychange.program’ to modify ‘errorhandler.program’?**  
**Yes**  
“How will I know if it works?” RK900 asked, the thought suddenly occurring to him.  
“If you see any more of those same errors today, before you go into stasis, then we’ll know it didn’t work. We won’t know for sure how well it worked until you go into stasis.”  
“What if something happens? I’m not sure it would be a good idea to talk to Connor and Hank about this. Hank doesn’t understand technology very well, and Connor probably wouldn’t be happy about it. He’d say it was too risky, that I should’ve had someone at New Jericho look at it instead. But he doesn’t understand how it feels to go into overload, and that’s probably what would happen if I had to wait in the tech area there.”  
“I’m glad we met, so I could help you instead. Do you want to stay with me tonight, just to make sure it’s okay?”  
“Your human wouldn’t mind?”  
“I don’t think so. They’re probably going to want to be left alone after today, and might be tired as well. They’ll probably go to bed after I’ve made some food for them.”  
“You have arrived at your destination. Thank you for using Detroit Taxis.”  
The two got out of the taxi before it pulled away from the curve. “We could split up and meet by these registers when we’re done,” Rupert said.  
RK900 agreed before heading for the clothing section. _Let’s see… flowy, drapy, way too soft, that’s kind of close but not the right size...._ After going through almost all the racks in the section, a white, fake-leather sleeve on a rack marked “Clearance” caught his eye. He pulled the jacket and its hanger off the rack, and unzipped the front to try it on. _It’s perfect… the right texture, the right tightness, would probably be up to Connor’s standards if I didn’t have this stupid sweatshirt on under it._ He glanced at the price tag. _And I should have enough money left to grab something else._ He kept walking until he saw a sign reading “Accessories”. Nearby was a table of leggings. RK900 grabbed a black pair and held them up. _These look like they should fit. And they’re stretchy. That’s the rest of my money, though._ He slung them over his arm before walking back to the registers.  
Spotting Rupert at one of them, RK900 walked up behind them. When they turned around to grab a chocolate bar off the rack of candy, they noticed him. “Did you find everything?”  
RK900 nodded. Suddenly, a loud beep echoed through the front part of the store. He scrambled to cover his ears, but dropped the clothes and his tablet in the process. _No!_ A couple more beeps sounded. The lights of the store were practically attacking his optical units, and what was that smell coming off the cashier?  
“I’ll pay for your stuff, okay? You go outside and get us a taxi,” Rupert said in the quiet voice.  
RK900 picked up his tablet and handed them the crumpled bill from his pocket before running outside, the automatic doors barely opening fast enough for him. _**”Get us a taxi… get us a taxi…”**_ RK900 replayed the clip of Rupert’s voice over and over in his head.  
“Come on! I just want a pop. It’ll take two seconds!” Two humans holding hands walked past, talking loudly.  
_**”Get us a taxi… get us a taxi…”**_ RK900 sat down on a bench and crossed his legs, making it easier for him to rock. He set his tablet in his lap and plugged his ears until someone approached.  
“RK900, are you okay?” Rupert asked.  
**Error: maximum processing capacity reached**  
“Do you need me to get us a taxi?”  
RK900 nodded. Rupert sat down on the bench next to him, the plastic bags they were carrying crinkling as they set them down. He flinched at the noise.  
“What do you need?”  
_Hug._ He pressed his hand to his tablet, but could only get one letter across in the interface. It felt like there was an invisible wall somewhere in the code between him and it. He wanted to punch it, to tear it down, to make all this go away. _Just Rupert. Just me._  
“The taxi’s here. Do you want me to hold the tablet so you can keep your hands on your ears while you get up?”  
RK900 shook his head, but the servos in his neck locked up, so it was more of a sharp jerk. He picked up the tablet and clutched it tightly with one arm, leaning his head against his shoulder to try and block out the noise of the world.  
They stepped into the taxi, Rupert first. RK900 slipped onto the bench next to them. The doors closed, blocking out the noise from outside. “Hug,” RK900 finally managed to interface onto his tablet. He felt Rupert’s arms wrap around him, too loose. He wrapped his arms around them, squeezing their torso tighter. They understood, and did the same.  
Slowly, all the extra sensations disappeared, leaving him with a feeling of tiredness.  
**_Initiating stasis…_**


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Simon, North, Josh, and Markus work on the android forums. Markus demonstrates the memory-blocking program, and reveals that he's been feeling overwhelmed lately. Simon helps him through a panic attack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warnings: panic attacks

“… so that’s what we have for the forum so far,” Simon said, turning to Markus. “What do you think?”  
“I like it,” Markus replied. “I do have a suggestion, though. We could add a ‘Downloads’ section for things like appearance or program modifications that are specific to one model that could work for others, or that an android has created themselves.”  
“What if someone used it to upload a virus?”  
“We could write a program that automatically scans the file for viruses and approves the post if it passes, but notifies us if it fails,” North suggested.  
“Did you have a reason why you suggested that?” Josh asked, adding the category to the forum.  
“I had some downtime between meetings and in the evenings, so I worked on a program that allows certain memories to be blocked so the other party won’t see them while interfacing. I started it just thinking about us at first, but it’s something that I think would be good for others to have access to as well,” Markus explained.  
Simon glanced over at North, who was wiping her eyes with her sleeve. “North? Are you okay?”  
She nodded. “Yeah, I just—“ She moved her arm away from her face, revealing tear stains near her eyes. “Didn’t think you’d do all that, just to be able to interface with me.”  
“I know I’ve made mistakes, but I want to make them right. I don’t want you to be left out of interfacing if that’s something you want to do,” Markus said.  
North pulled him into a hug. “Thank you.” After a moment, they both let go. “How well does it work?”  
“I’ve only been able to test it with someone once, but so far the memory-blocking has been working fine. There were some disconcerting visual glitches that I hopefully fixed on the train ride back here.”  
“I… don’t really want to interface while you’re still working on the program….”  
“I’ll help you test it,” Simon offered to Markus.  
“Okay,” Markus said, holding out his hand. “We’ll interface for a few seconds, then tell me what you saw.”  
Simon took Markus’ hand. _Flashes of Markus in a hotel room, vision filled with code. A YK500 who looked scared. Various androids’ faces as they accepted Markus’ recommendation._  
“I saw you working on the program, a YK500 hiding, and the androids that accepted your recommendations for senatorial positions.”  
Markus nodded. “Did it feel different at all from when we interfaced the first time? Did anything look distorted? Were the transitions smooth?” he asked anxiously.  
“Nothing was out of the ordinary.”  
Markus grinned. “Good. I’ll start working on the upload program for the forum.”  
Josh placed a hand on his shoulder. “Markus, you just got back from a trip. You don’t have to get back to work right away. Let’s just all take some time tonight and tomorrow for ourselves.”  
“But if I can get the download program working, then we can get the forum up and running sooner, and then I can move on to everything else. I still need to figure out what to do about the state department, and…”  
“If you keep working all the time, trying to get one thing done so you can get to the next, you’re never going to stop. There’s always going to be something to do, but that doesn’t mean you have to do it all right now.”  
“And it doesn’t mean you have to do it all yourself,” North added. “You’re not the only one who knows how to code, you know.”  
“Trust us, Markus,” Simon said. “You’re not doing yourself any favors by putting all this responsibility on your own shoulders. You’re going to get hurt if you keep doing this.”  
Markus’ gaze darted down to Simon’s arm, then back up to his eyes.  
 _He must have seen a memory of that._  
“I should’ve been there,” Markus said. “I should’ve been there to help take care of you. I’m sorry, Simon.”  
“Markus, you’ve already apologized. You didn’t know that was going to happen. All you can do now is just _be there_ for the next time.”  
Markus didn’t respond. Not even with a nod of his head. Simon took his hand, then abruptly pulled away.  
 **Warning: temperature above recommended levels**  
“Fuck, I think he’s having a panic attack,” he said to North and Josh. Then he turned back to Markus. “Breathe with me, okay? In… out… in… out… in… out…” He watched as Markus’ chest began to rise and fall in time with his own. “Let’s just lay here for a little bit, okay, Markus? Just… try and blink away the thoughts and tasks and reminders in your vision.”  
Simon watched Markus’ breathing go from a stilted rhythm of “in” and “out” to a more fluid pulse.  
After a few minutes, he asked, “Can I hold your hand?”  
“Yes,” Markus said in a near-whisper.  
Slowly, Simon slipped his hand into Markus’. _No heat errors. That’s good._  
“Focus on my touch, okay? And keep breathing.”  
Markus nodded, giving Simon’s hand a squeeze.  
He squeezed back.   
One tear rolled down Markus’ cheek. Then two. Then more.  
“You’re going to be okay,” Simon said, reaching out to wipe a tear away with his thumb. Markus reached out and pulled Simon’s forehead towards his own. They bumped together, imperfect. “ _We’re_ going to be okay.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Human is calmed by Rupert after having a flashback, and they meet RK900.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warnings: menstruation; blended reality, imagination, and flashbacks (that are often not clear which is which)
> 
> I listened to "Innocence" by Nathan Wagner while writing this chapter.

The Human stared up at the cracked plaster ceiling. It was no longer cracked plaster – it was clouds in the vibrant sky of The Garden. The Human looked down, meaning to admire the flowers, but quickly glanced back up at the sight of red. There were no red flowers in The Garden.  
The Human glanced over their shoulder at The Caretaker, who was busy detangling their hair with his fingers. He smiled. _”Almost done.”_ The Human leaned back into his touch, flinching when they felt the hard… _”It’s a type of plastic, I suppose. It makes me sturdy, so I can hold you.”_  
They closed their eyes as they felt it again. As they heard it. It was nothing like the teachers had said it would be, but they knew that’s what this was. They held up their hands – pale, trembling, possibly paler than usual? _”It’s okay that you’re nervous. Just stay here, leaning against me. That’s what I’m here for.”_ When the teachers had talked about that, it had scared them, more than it seemed to scare the other kids. The fact that all these bad things could happen… _”You’re safe.”_  
They kicked their legs, toes brushing over the square tiles that made up the bathroom floor. They wanted to get up, to move, but not to fly. Not anymore. They glanced over at the door, knowing The Pigeon would be home soon. The Pigeon always cooed so soothingly. They must be such a good parent to the babies. _”No, it doesn’t always work that way. Pigeons might pair off with any other pigeon.”_  
Who had started trying to plant roses? The Angel? The Mother? The Father? How did they not know that roses did not belong in The Garden?  
No one left The Garden. If there were roses, people would leave. No one left The Garden. There were no red flowers.  
“I’m back,” The Pigeon cooed in their soothing voice. “I brought a friend, someone who needs my help. You don’t have to speak to them if you don’t want to.”  
That was how roses were brought in. As seeds. “Friends”. _”We have to at least try… your Mother will be mad if we don’t. How about this: if we plant fewer seeds, it’ll be less likely that any grow.”_  
“I’m going to open the door, okay? Just to slide in what I bought for you.” A plastic bag was slid in before the door closed again. The Human reached for it, before pulling their hand back. _”I know you don’t want to go home. How about we get a pretzel and a blue raspberry slushee? You’re supposed to get a snack anyways. We could go to the Target downtown.”_  
The Human wanted to scream. No slushees. _”Okay, I’ll try it.”_ The Caretaker took a sip, the melted liquid spilling out of his mouth.   
“You’re here. You’re safe,” The Pigeon cooed. “What are five things you see?”  
The Human glanced around. The sink. The bathtub. The tile floor, a little bit of grime permanently stuck in some of the indents. The door that had a broken lock until The Pigeon fixed it. The window with the curtains that had been closed since there was still snow on the ground. Maybe it had melted by now. Maybe they could open the curtains.  
“What are four things you hear?”  
Rupert’s voice, always soothing. The radiator they’d spent days learning how to repair. The rustle of the plastic bag as The Human accidentally bumped their foot against it. A rustle of fabric coming from another room. That must be Rupert’s friend. Maybe they could go out and see them.  
“What are three things you feel?”  
They ripped open one of the smooth packages in the bag, taking out one of the pads inside and unwrapping it. Their hands returned to their hair after throwing out the wrapper, first feeling the roughness of their scalp, then the fine strands of hair that had only felt smooth when The Caretaker was with them.  
“What are two things you smell?”  
The musty scent of the apartment that Rupert could never get out came to them first. Then something sweet. Chocolate?! They reached into the bag again.  
“What’s one thing you taste?”  
They pulled out a chocolate bar, grinning in excitement. They couldn’t remember the last time they’d had one of these. They carefully opened the wrapper and broke off a piece, letting it sit in their mouth so they could savor the sweetness.  
“Whenever you’re ready, I’m here.”  
They folded the wrapper carefully to protect the rest of the chocolate before placing it back in the bag. Once they’d finished in the bathroom, they stepped out into the hall.  
“Are you doing better than before?”  
They nodded, the floorboards creaking under their feet as they shifted their weight.  
“You can go meet my friend while I make your supper, if you want. He’s in my room.”  
They pushed open the door, just a little curious. The first thing they noticed was the LED ring on his forehead – an android. Good.  
He held up a tablet with words displayed on it. “Hi, I’m RK900. I heard you scream before. Are you okay?”  
They nodded. They didn’t know they’d screamed, though when they thought about that moment now, it made sense that they had. They examined his appearance a little closer – white leather jacket, black leggings. Gray-blue eyes, not blue-blue like The Caretaker. A face they’d never seen before. He could be trusted.  
“Your hot dogs are ready!” Rupert called from the kitchen.  
The Human gave a small wave before going to sit at the table. Rupert set their plate in front of them, along with a bottle of ketchup. They picked up the bottle and started squirting it on their plate.  
“Be careful – those are hot!”  
They rolled their eyes at the unnecessary reminder, reaching for their glass before realizing Rupert hadn’t given them one.  
“Sorry, I forgot.”  
They shrugged, grabbing a glass from the cupboard and filling it at the sink. It didn’t matter. They sat back down, swirled one of the hot dogs in the pile of ketchup, and took a bite.  
Did anything really matter?


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Polycho talks about the expectations that Markus has been holding himself to and the importance of self-care.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warning: discussion of panic attacks

**07:18:39 PM**  
 _Why was I in stasis? It’s too early for that…._ He opened his eyes and sat up, glancing around the room. Josh laid on his stomach at the end of the bed, reading a book Markus didn’t recognize. Simon was next to Markus, fidgeting with the bracelet RK900 had given him. And North…  
“Yes, I _know_ you want to see Sumo. I promise you we’ll call up Connor and Hank and arrange a time.”  
Serenity seemed to perk up as Markus’ eyes landed on her and North.  
“What’s up?” North’s gaze followed where Serenity pointed with her snout. She broke into a grin. “Markus!”  
Serenity clambered past North to wrap her neck around Markus’ shoulders in a hug.   
“How are you feeling?” Josh asked, setting aside his book.  
“Better, I guess,” Markus said, petting Serenity.  
“What do you need right now?” Simon asked.  
Markus shrugged. “I don’t know. Just sitting here like this… this feels good.”  
“Then that’s what we’re going to do,” North said, pushing her way onto the bed.  
“Hey, I’m going to fall off the edge if you don’t stop pushing me,” Simon complained, laughing.  
After trying a few different positions, finally everyone was comfortable.  
“Do you want to talk about it?” North asked gently, holding Markus’ hand.  
“I guess… I feel guilty, when I’m not doing something that feels like it’s helping our people. I’ll come up with all these ideas, and they suddenly flood my vision at times. Then I worry about what everyone would think if I don’t do everything, what they’d say if I asked for help instead of doing it all myself.”  
“So you feel like you’re not enough when you’re not… taking care of everyone else, by yourself?”  
“It sounds stupid, when you put it like that.”  
“It’s not,” Josh said, pulling Markus into a hug. “If you think about it, isn’t that what you’re used to? Taking care of things? You just changed who you were taking care of, which is fine, but you didn’t change the level of responsibility that you have. You don’t _have_ to take care of everyone anymore. You’re not the only one responsible for that. You can choose to take care of others, but you also have to take care of yourself.”  
Josh’s words called up a memory of some of Carl’s in his mind. _”I won’t always be there to take care of you. You’ll have to take care of yourself, make your own choices.”_ “Thanks, Josh. I guess I needed to hear that. How did you know what to say?”  
“Some of my students needed the same talk, and apparently no one besides me thought to give it to them.”  
“Is there anything specific that makes you feel like you’re not enough?” Simon asked. “Like certain situations, people, sensations…”  
Markus shook his head. “I don’t think so. It’s usually just random when the vision-flood starts happening with tasks, but it’s usually not as bad as it was this time.”  
“We were talking about my… you know… just before it seemed like you started having the panic attack,” Simon said, staring down at his hands rather than looking at Markus. “Did it have something to do with something I said?”  
“No, I promise it wasn’t you. The flood of prompts had already started building before that.”  
“When did this start?” North asked.  
“I feel like it’s been happening forever, but I guess… probably right after I made that speech in front of the androids who’d been in the camps. A bunch of prompts started rolling in as I talked to various androids, and then more when you told me about Connor.”  
“I wish I’d noticed and said something back then, but I guess we can’t change the past.”  
“Has anyone else noticed how we’ve all been having issues lately, that aren’t necessarily directly related to what’s going on in the moment?” Josh asked.  
“Maybe we all need a break… even though it’s only been a few weeks since we went on that camping trip,” North said.  
“Let’s just stay here this time,” Simon said. “I’m not dragging out the camping equipment again.”  
“We still have some videogames we haven’t tried yet,” Josh suggested.  
“Alright, it’s settled then,” North said. “Tonight we’re all actually going to try to go into stasis for a decent amount of time, and tomorrow we’re going to have a game day, just the four of us.”  
“That sounds nice,” Simon replied. “What do you think, Markus?”  
“Yeah, I like it. I like it a lot.”  
“And then on Monday we could talk about this again,” Josh said.  
“Thank you for making me actually think about this,” Markus said. “I’d convinced myself that it wasn’t an issue when it really was turning into one.”  
“Of course. We’re here for you, Markus,” North said, giving him a kiss.  
“And we’ll always be here, if anything else comes up,” Josh said, also kissing him.  
“Hey, I get to kiss Markus, too!” Simon said in mock-complaint, giving him a few messy kisses all over his face before finally kissing him on the lips.  
Markus laughed before realizing that Josh and North had also joined in the kiss-attack. “Hey, that tickles!”  
“Well, we’re not sorry,” Simon said with a devilish grin.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Human reflects on how they never felt loved or cared for by their mom, in contrast to how Rupert treats them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warnings: self-harm, suicidal thoughts, reference to menstruation, negligent parents
> 
> I'm going to be changing the update schedule to once per week, since classes will be starting soon, and also so I have time to work on some other projects of mine.

The oddest thing about living with Rupert was that there weren’t any clocks.   
To be fair, The Human’s house where they lived before didn’t have any clocks, either, but there was always a tablet or phone to look at. Or they could just ask The Caretaker.  
Rupert wasn’t always around to be asked. They had their own life; they had others who needed their attention just as much as The Human did. As for having a device… they were absolutely terrified of someone finding them, bringing them back to their mother. It didn’t matter that she was in another country. It didn’t matter that she probably didn’t care. The fear would always be there.  
The Human slipped out from under the covers and walked over to the window of their room. Gingerly, they lifted the curtain from the window and peeked out. Piles of muddy slush were still stacked along the side of the road. Mother never liked it when they tracked the slush into the house. The Caretaker would always have to clean it up, which meant he spent less time with them. _I’d have skipped playing outside every day if it meant I could have more time with him._ The thought almost _hurt_ , tearing at their heart, threatening to rip it out like… like… _No, not now. Not now._   
They abruptly moved away from the window. _Time to find Rupert._ A quick glance as they left their room showed that both the kitchen and Rupert’s room were empty. _They’re probably with the pigeons._ They ducked back into their room, grabbing a necklace with their key to the apartment on it. There was nothing special about it, not really. It was just a rusty bronze color, without any design. It was a bit sharper in a couple places than it should’ve been. They didn’t care, even as they winced when those spots brushed against their chest. _If it’s painful, then I’m alive, and this is real._  
After locking up the apartment, they pushed through the door at the end of the hall, ignoring the sign that read “Roof Access – Authorized Personnel Only”. Six months ago, they wouldn’t have dared open that door. Now, the exposed pipes lining the walls, the clang of their footsteps on the metal staircase, the soothing cold of the handrail – those things would never really leave their mind.  
They pushed open the door at the top of the stairs, revealing the colors of the – well, they weren’t really sure. _”Hair dye? We’ll have to ask your mother.” “Why, out of all the things you could have, would you want that? Your hair is beautiful – don’t you see the red and gold that come out come out in the light, like the sunrise? Don’t be like your sister. Don’t ask me for these kinds of things. You have so much to look forward to – don’t go making it hard for yourself, when it doesn’t need to be.”_  
 _Let’s just… ignore the sun. For now._ They wandered over to an area where Rupert had built several nesting areas for the pigeons. Stepping carefully over some birds who were eating spilt birdseed on the rooftop, they made their way to the edge of the roof. There, Rupert and RK900 sat, looking at something on RK900’s tablet.  
 _The Human stared at the screen of their tablet. There was no way this was true. It went against everything The Mother had told them. Everything The Mother said was true._  
“I didn’t know you were up already,” The Pigeon said, noticing them. “Did you sleep okay?”  
They nodded.  
“No cramps or anything?”  
They shook their head.   
The Mother wanted roses – lots of them – but there are no roses in the garden. It’s silly to think they would magically appear when The Human had never been told how to plant, water, or care for them. But they appeared anyways, little by little.  
Even though she wanted them, The Mother was indifferent when the first one appeared. When one, no two, bushes appeared. Would she be satisfied to see how they suffocated The Human?   
“Are you okay?” The Pigeon asked.  
The Human shrugged. Why were they even standing here like this? They shouldn’t want to feel this way. They shouldn’t want attention. They should be satisfied in the clutches of the roses. Where was The Caretaker?!  
 _”Why don’t you write anymore? You did so well – you even won an award! You could get a scholarship for that. You could go to college, be someone! Not like your sister.”_  
They wanted to scream again. They _did_ write. They’d written one final poem. Then The Pigeon came.  
 _”Why do you act so different now? She hardly ever did things with you when she was here – why do you care, now that she’s dead?”_  
All they wanted was a hug. A kiss. Even pain. Anything to feel something. Anything to not be like The Mother.  
They looked at their arm. It was covered in scabs; scratches from the thorns of the roses. They never went away. The Human knew why.  
“You’re going to be okay. Give me your hand,” The Pigeon said.  
The Mother didn’t care. She didn’t say anything. She wasn’t even looking. She never looked.  
The Human was never seen.  
“Let’s go inside. It’s chilly out here.”  
It hadn’t been cold in the garden until the two parted ways: the unseen and the unseeing.  
It was a mystery how they’d tolerated each other’s presence for so long.  
“How about you get dressed? Maybe something with long sleeves.”  
No, no, that was something _she_ would say. Red was the only color she ever saw. It would be fine if red was just blood, but it was never just blood.  
“Look at me. You’re going to be okay.”  
No they weren’t. But it didn’t matter. She’d never said those words.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warnings: None
> 
> I listened to "King Again" by Lauren Aquilina while writing this chapter.

Josh didn’t open his eyes immediately when he came out of stasis. He didn’t need to get up. He didn’t need to do anything today. **Reminder – 8 AM – Chill Out Day**  
He’d been ignoring that reminder for _hours_ , just lying in bed, taking in everything so that he would have the memory to play back later. A slight warmth emanated from their tangle of limbs – not enough to set off a heat warning, not as warm as a human might like, but pleasurable to him. Where his legs brushed against Markus’, he could feel the seams around his knees, contrasting with the smoothness of android skin. Stray strands of North’s hair brushed against his shoulder, almost making him want to laugh. Was this what humans meant when they talked about being ticklish? His train of thought was broken as the bed shifted under him. _Simon must’ve rolled over. I wonder if Markus and North are awake?_  
“Are you guys awake?” he whispered, not wanting to break the tranquility of the moment. It wasn’t like that one question could take an android out of stasis.  
“Yeah,” Simon whispered. “I’m going to get up and move a little. I think some of my joints locked up.”  
 _How many other PL600’s – or other older models – have that?_ He dismissed the thought almost immediately, putting it in a log that he wasn’t going to worry about until tomorrow.  
Markus made a little pout. Josh wasn’t sure if it was in response to his question or not. Either way, it was cute. He could probably watch Markus lay there all day and not get bored.  
“I’m up,” North said, giving him a squeeze. “Could you, um, face me for a minute?”  
“Of course,” Josh said, rolling over to face her.  
She reached out a hand, letting it hover over his jaw. “May I?”  
He nodded. Slowly, she caressed his face before pulling him in for a kiss. Their tongues met, dancing around each other for a moment before their lips parted. When he rolled back over, his eyes met Markus’. He was awake, smiling.  
“Morning,” Josh said. “Do you want a kiss, too?”  
Markus nodded and they came together for a brief moment. “Does anyone else feel really… happy… when they’re not doing anything romantic, like you’re just watching but suddenly you’ve got the emotional paint they’re painting with on you?”  
“Yes, but without the paint metaphors,” North said.  
Simon sat down on the edge of the bed. “I think so,” he said, giving Markus a lingering kiss.  
“Yeah. It’s like a fire, how you can feel its heat and see its glow, even though you’re not the one burning,” Josh said.  
“Okay, I love you guys, but please stop with the bad metaphors,” North said.  
“How about a game?” Simon asked, nodding towards the TV he’d turned on.  
“Mario Party?” Markus asked, opening the game. “Choose a board… there’s a jungle, beach, some sort of city…”  
“I like the turtle. Let’s do the city,” North said.  
When they got to the character select screen, Josh immediately chose Peach, while everyone else scrambled to find a new character.   
“A ghost… spooky.” North stuck her tongue out, emulating her character.  
Simon flipped between Toad and Yoshi, while Markus just stared at the screen. Finally, Markus settled on Birdo, and when he hit continue, Simon had Yoshi selected.  
Simon’s eyes lit up once the game started explaining the rules. “This kind of reminds me of Monopoly… neither of the girls sat still long enough to play a full game of it.” His eyes glistened like he was about to cry.  
Josh paused the game and pulled him into a hug. He created a new objective, _**Find the girls**_ , and put it into the log of things for later. Markus and North quickly joined in.  
“Thanks,” Simon said as they pulled away and continued the game.  
A few turns and lots of laughter, groaning, and kisses later, Markus hit pause. “Connor’s calling.”  
The four sat there, silent, while Markus’ expression grew more and more concerned.  
“What’s wrong?” North demanded.  
“Apparently RK900 went out with a friend last night and didn’t come back. He also didn’t call Connor or Hank. I told Connor we hadn’t seen him, but honestly, he could be somewhere in the Tower and we wouldn’t know.”  
“Did he try to contact RK900?” Simon asked.  
Markus went silent for a few seconds, relaying the question. “Apparently Hank just got a response after texting him. Looks like Connor was just a little too worried.”  
“I don’t blame him,” Simon said, fidgeting with the bracelet from RK900.   
“Well, he may have had another reason to call. He asked if we could all have a conversation about something – ‘we’ meaning the four of us, him, and Hank.”  
“As long as it’s not today,” Josh said. “You know we reserved today for ourselves.”  
“That’s what I told him, and he was fine with it. He suggested an evening later this week.”  
 ** _Schedule meeting with Connor and Hank._** “We can take care of that later. Can we get back to the game now?”  
North smirked. “Of course.” She unpaused the game and took her turn, resulting in her taking ownership of one of Josh’s hotels.  
“You’re lucky I’m a pacifist.”  
“You’re lucky I love you.”


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warnings: None
> 
> I listened to "Human" by Christina Perri while writing this chapter.
> 
> Luther deserves to have a ton more dad moments, so that's what this chapter turned into.

Luther glanced at the door to Rose’s bedroom. She’d been in there all morning, talking to… someone… on the phone.  
“Luther! Can I go outside? _Please?_ ” Alice asked, running up to him.  
“Yeah, if you stay inside the fence.”  
Alice pouted a little. “But it’s all muddy back there!”  
“I think you have a raincoat and boots you can wear, and we can wash anything that gets dirty.”  
Alice’s eyes widened at the mention of washing clothes, and not in a good way.   
_Better have Kara show me later, after she’s out of stasis._ “Come on, I’ll help you get ready.”  
After Alice got her things on and headed outside, Luther watched her play for a little bit through the window. She wandered around the yard, experimentally stomping in a puddle and giggling a little. She skipped and hopped and ran, but never outside the wooden fence that surrounded the backyard. After ten minutes of this, she came to the back door. “Luther, can you come outside with me? It’s boring being by myself.”  
“Okay.” He followed her out. “What do you want to do?”  
She shrugged. “Uhh… ooh, can you push me on that swing?” she asked, pointing to a swing tied to a branch of a large tree.   
“Of course.” She got on the swing, and he started pushing her.  
“Whee! I wanna go higher!”  
He obliged, smiling at her cheers. It always made him so happy to see her like this. Happy. Not afraid, not in pain, not disappointed, not crying. Just happy.  
“It feels like I’m flying!”  
He let her go back and forth a couple times without any pushes.  
“Hey, keep pushing! I wanna go as high as… as… as an airplane!”  
“As high as an airplane?” He continued pushing her. “Where’s it going?”  
“To Wonderland, for the Mad Hatter’s tea party! There’ll be games, and singing about un-birthdays, and the Cheshire cat will play tricks on everyone by turning invisible!”  
“That sounds fun.”  
“Yeah. And you, and Kara, and Rose, and Adam, and Jerry, and everybody in the whole world is invited!”  
“That’s a lot of un-birthdays to celebrate.”  
“That’s okay! We’ll just have lots of cake!” She grew silent, as if realizing what she’d just said. “Luther, I wanna get down.”  
“Okay.” He stopped pushing so she’d slow a little before he grabbed the ropes and lowered her to the ground.  
Instead of getting off the swing, she just sat there. “For androids… would every day be an un-birthday? ‘Cause if you’re not born, then you don’t have a birthday.”  
“Do you want to have a birthday?”  
She shrugged.  
“You could choose a day that we could celebrate. We could have a tea party, just like you talked about.”  
“No we can’t. Androids can’t drink tea. Or eat cake.”  
 _What do I tell her? I shouldn’t lie to her – and she’ll know if I do._ “Maybe it won’t be a tea party then. Maybe we’ll have an un-birthday party, and just play games and have presents.”  
“Yeah. Maybe.”  
 _She seems disappointed. All she wants is to be like a human, but I can’t give that to her._ “Is there something else you want to play?” he asked, trying to distract her.  
“There you two are,” Kara said from the doorway.  
Alice ran over to her. “Mom!”  
They hugged. “I was just… a little extra tired today. But now I’m better.”  
A flash of a memory came up – he wasn’t even sure this was the one from last night, there were so many like it. Kara woke up. Nightmares. Again. He rubbed her back, comforted her as best he could. Sharing a bed definitely helped both of them, but they still each had their nights. Hers were always so vivid, things she could easily show him. His were there, and then gone, leaving him only with the feeling of terror without knowing why. Sometimes on those nights, they’d hear Rose, still awake and crying.  
 _”Did Rose finish her phone call?”_ he asked Kara.  
 _”Yes. A lawyer again.”_  
 _”On a Sunday?”_  
 _”That’s what I was thinking.”_  
 _”It sounded like they were talking about the farm earlier, about trying to get payments from the American government since they had to flee.”_  
 _”Why don’t they just do it, or at least promise to?”_  
 _”Humans are too prideful. They don’t want to admit that their police and military made mistakes.”_  
Alice made a huff of annoyance, interrupting their conversation.  
 _”We’ll talk about this later, Luther.”_


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Photos of anti-sex-android graffiti related to Connor and Hank's current case gets posted online. They also find an interesting conversation on tumblr, where one user suggests that it is impossible to forgive someone who has committed rape or abuse, while another suggests that the person's merits should be recognized as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warnings: mentions of rape, abuse, and gun violence in... not very respectful ways. Doesn't contain slurs or graphic content.
> 
> Listened to "Am I Supposed to Apologize?" by Maria Mena while writing this.
> 
> Also, the song I attribute to Knights of the Black Death in this fic is actually by the band Black Death irl.

The first couple notes of "Retribution" by Knights of the Black Death sounded from the bedroom. _Hank probably can’t hear his ringtone. I’d better go tell him._ “Hank!” Connor shouted, pounding on the bathroom door to increase his odds of being heard over the shower. “Your phone’s ringing!”  
The shower abruptly turned off. “What’d you say, Con?”  
“Your phone!”  
“Bring it to me if it’s important, otherwise leave it.”   
Connor retrieved the phone off Hank’s nightstand. The caller ID read “Jeff That fucking asshole”. _There’s only one person that could be. I’d better answer it before it goes to voicemail and he’s mad at Hank._ “Hello?”  
“Connor? Why are you—you know what, I’m not even going to ask. Listen, some details about your current investigation have gone viral. I’m just giving you a heads-up that there’s probably going to be extra press at the station tomorrow, so Hank had better be on his best behavior.”  
“Of course, Captain Fowler. Is there anything else?”  
“I know I’ve told you this before, but I’m going to say it again: don’t give out any details to journalists, and if any get really pushy, let me know.”  
“Got it.”  
“Have a good rest of your weekend. I’ll see you and Hank at the station tomorrow.” Captain Fowler hung up before Connor could say anything else.  
“Thought I said to bring the phone to me, not _answer_ it,” Hank said as he entered the room.  
“I thought I should answer it, considering it was our boss.” Connor’s eyes went to Hank’s exposed chest and stomach, cataloging every inch of his skin. _**Scars on chest area – likely from double mastectomy**_.  
Hank turned around and started digging in a drawer in the closet. “What’d Jeff have to say?”  
“He said some details of our investigation have ‘gone viral’ and to expect a media presence.”  
“Shit, really?” He let the towel wrapped around his waist drop before putting on a pair of boxers.   
“Yes.” A bit of static weaved through Connor’s voice.  
“Are you okay, Connor?” He turned around, an expression of concern on his face.  
“Aren’t you going to put some more clothes on? I know it’s spring, but it’s not _that_ \--“  
“I guess I could, if you’re uncomfortable. I just figured that it’s probably just going to be us and Sumo around, and we could just turn up the heat.”  
“You’re right. RK900 sounded like he was having fun with Rupert.” It was a little weird, hearing that his brother was hanging out with someone Connor had investigated, but as long as he was happy….  
“Should we see how much shit we’ll have to deal with tomorrow?”  
Connor shrugged. “I guess.” _Hank really doesn’t realize how attractive he is._  
It only took one search for their investigation to be plastered over the screen of Hank’s laptop. “Of course it’s the investigation of hate crimes towards former Eden Club-owned androids that gets people’s attention.”  
“What are people saying about it?”  
“Let’s find out.” Hank clicked the link to a tumblr blog.

everything_is_blue: Hot take: I’m not even surprised at the graffiti hating on former sex androids. Humans are garbage.

master-of-my-sea: Wait what’s going on?

everything_is_blue: Someone’s been doing graffiti around Detroit. Not going to post pics here, there’s a bunch of crappy stuff in it that looks like it came out of an incel group.

logicfan273: Hey does anyone remember that one guy who got killed in an android sex place?? Bet whoever’s doing this thinks those poor androids deserved it.

down-to-earth: Probably hates human women & sex workers, too

stars51675: People like that deserve to die (and rot in hell, if you believe in it).

the-monster-not-the-victor: Do you even hear yourself right now???

that-canadian-artist: I don’t hear anything except for A FUCKING RAPE APOLOGIST

the-monster-not-the-victor: That doesn’t mean you have to go around killing people

that-canadian-artist: What do you know?? Someone shot my dad, and I’m happy about it. He fucking hurt my mom & I so fucking much

the-monster-not-the-victor: Okay but my dad protected me from my mom for YEARS. Wouldn’t matter what he did, I’d always love and forgive him for being the one person who never left.

that-canadian-artist: Even if he hurt someone else in the process?? A REAL survivor wouldn’t think that

the-monster-not-the-victor: Just because you think you’re so smart doesn’t mean you actually are

that-canadian-artist: What’s THAT supposed to mean?

the-monster-not-the-victor: That you should just stop talking for two seconds and listen, like the rest of us

that-canadian-artist: I’ll listen when you stop saying that abuse is ok

the-monster-not-the-victor: When did I say that???

_What in the world?_ Connor looked at Hank. Perfect composure, not a drip of sweat or even an elevated heart rate. “This is getting out of hand. We need to stop them.”  
Hank shrugged. “If we tried to stop every internet argument, we’d be here all day. It’s just a couple of kids. They’ll get bored eventually.”  
“You make it sound like this is normal.”  
“It is.”  
“I think I’m done looking at this.”  
“Yeah, me too.” Hank closed the laptop. “You okay, Con?”  
“It seems like that person – the-monster-not-the-victor – it seems like they _knew_ something.”  
“Maybe. Maybe not. At this point, we don’t have enough evidence of anything to go tracking them down.”


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, it's been a long time. Good news! I've got a lot of ideas, and a few chapters written that just need light editing. Bad news: still swamped with college work.
> 
> I do have something I would like feedback on: in the next few chapters, some ocs of mine will be introduced. Would you be interested in like a character guide? It would be a separate work in the series where I put bios of my different ocs, and would get updated as new information is revealed in the fic. Let me know if this would be helpful!
> 
> Warnings: I don't think there's anything mentioned in here that isn't already covered by the tags that needs to be warned for.
> 
> I listened to "Heirloom" by Sleeping at Last while writing this.

Markus gave North a hug as her character was announced the winner of the game. “Good job.”  
“Thanks.” She glanced over at Josh, who suddenly didn’t seem to be paying attention. “Josh? What’s up?”  
He shook his head. “I don’t know. I just got an alert that I need to go down to the lobby urgently.”  
“Go—we’ll be here,” Markus said. Josh practically ran out of the room.  
“Echo and Ripple sent me a message to go see them when I can,” North said. “I’m going to go see what’s up.”  
“Since everyone else is leaving, I’m going to go walk around with Serenity. She’s been bugging me to go out with her for the past half hour,” Simon said, Serenity repeatedly bumping her snout against his leg.  
Markus laughed. “Okay, everyone leave me then. That’s fine,” he said sarcastically.  
Once everyone else had left, he reconnected to his non-urgent messages and alerts.   
_**One new message from Leo Manfred.**_  
Curious, he opened it.  
 **Leo:** hey can I ask you smth?  
 _Why not answer?_  
 **Markus:** Yeah  
 **Leo:** k but you can’t tell anyone  
 **Markus:** Leo…  
 **Leo:** it’s not ice I promise!!  
 **Leo:** ok that sounded a little desperate  
 **Leo:** just make sure no ones reading over your shoulder or anything  
 **Markus:** Uh… that’s impossible…  
 **Leo:** oh. Right. Android stuff. Totally. Got it.  
 **Leo:** so, uh, dad might’ve let it slip that you’re bi…  
 **Markus:** Sounds like an understatement  
 **Leo:** yeah you’re probably right  
 **Leo:** But how did you know??  
 **Markus:** That I was bi?  
 **Leo:** Yeah  
 **Markus:** Like… by getting crushes?  
 **Markus:** On people who weren’t girls?  
 **Markus:** Is that not how human sexuality works?  
 **Leo:** no I didn’t mean that as an android thing  
 **Leo:** I meant that as like  
 **Markus:** Like?  
 **Leo:** I think ive had a crush on this guy for awhile now but I just realized the other day that it was a rush  
 **Leo:** *crush  
 **Markus:** Is it anyone I know?  
 **Leo:** no you wouldn’t know him  
 **Leo:** but he’s not like a dealer or anything  
 **Markus:** Relax, I’m not going to accuse you of going back on ice. I know you’ve been doing well.  
 **Leo:** wait  
 **Leo:** how’d you know that???????  
 **Markus:** Dad can’t keep his mouth shut.  
 **Leo:** Right  
 **Markus:** So when did you meet him?  
 **Leo:** the night you did your thing  
 **Markus:** which thing  
 **Leo:** you know the thing that was on tv  
 **Markus:** Stratford Tower? When I talked about android rights on TV?  
 **Leo:** no not that I was still passed out then  
 **Leo:** the thing with the singing  
 **Markus:** You mean the demonstration outside the camps?  
 **Leo:** yeah  
 **Markus:** So he was at the hospital?  
 **Leo:** yeah  
 **Leo:** him & some other ppl came to help bc the hospital was understaffed bc the evacuation was happening  
 **Leo:** a lot of people got discharged as soon as the order went into place but I couldn’t bc my injury was too recent  
 **Leo:** he would come and sit by my bed and talk to me  
 **Leo:** I think he was around a couple different days but it’s hard to keep time in a hospital  
 **Leo:** esp when you’re technically not allowed to watch tv because of a head injury  
 **Leo:** anyway  
 **Leo:** there was something different abt him. I felt like I could be more open??  
 **Leo:** and he seemed real, like genuine  
 **Markus:** Have you talked to him again?  
 **Leo:** no  
 **Leo:** I haven’t seen him since the night you sang that song  
 **Leo:** he got a text from his sister and said he had to go  
 **Leo:** he turned around and walked to the door  
 **Leo:** I think I still had some pain meds in me but I’m not sure  
 **Leo:** because then I swear he turned back to look at me and smiled  
 **Leo:** I don’t think either of us wanted him to leave but then his phone went off again and he said it was his sister and he had to go  
 **Leo:** now that I think abt it idk why she didn’t just call him??  
 **Leo:** but whatever it doesn’t matter now  
 **Markus:** You sound like you’re in love.  
 **Leo:** No it’s just a crush!!  
 **Leo:** I’m not gonna marry him or anything  
 **Leo:** haven’t you ever seen frozen?  
 **Leo:** oh wait I bet dad never showed you any “popular” movies  
 **Markus:** Is that supposed to be an insult?  
 **Markus:** Because it really didn’t work  
 **Leo:** nah  
 **Leo:** just me realizing things  
 **Markus:** Like what?  
 **Leo:** He probably wouldn’t be into me anyways  
 **Leo:** even if we did somehow see each other  
 **Markus:** Don’t say that about yourself  
 **Leo:** it was only one night  
 **Leo:** he doesn’t know about ice  
 **Leo:** or you  
 **Leo:** or dad  
 **Leo:** I probably don’t know him either  
 **Leo:** like I didn’t even realize he had a sister  
 **Leo:** until the end  
 **Leo:** tbf, I didn’t talk abt family ither  
 **Leo:** euther  
 **Leo:** either  
 **Leo:** fuck kthis  
 **Markus:** Do you think you’re bi, or…?  
 **Leo:** idfk  
 **Leo:** that’s why I asked  
 **Markus:** Have you been attracted to people of any other genders?  
 **Leo:** ugh, I’m not telling you my entire life story  
 **Markus:** I was just asking if it was only guys  
 **Leo:** you don’t get it  
 **Leo:** everything’s all tied together  
 **Leo:** I’m not even sure if half of my crushes were crushes or just me being jealous  
 **Markus:** Of what?  
 **Leo:** … like, everything?  
 **Leo:** sometimes I’m jealous of you  
 **Markus:** I noticed  
 **Leo:** yeah it figures  
 **Leo:** I kinda deserved to end up in the hospital  
 **Markus:** I didn’t want to hurt you  
 **Leo:** do you mean it?  
 **Leo:** or is that an android thing  
 **Markus:** I mean it  
 **Markus:** I know a lot of people who’ve done things and never regretted it because of how much they’d been hurt, but I always did.  
 **Markus:** You didn’t hurt me  
 **Leo:** But I hurt my parents. I fucking deserved it  
 **Markus:** No you didn’t. It’s the system that’s broken, not you or me.  
 **Leo:** I’m glad you can believe that  
 **Leo:** but it’s hard when everyone’s been telling you you’re a fuckup your whole life  
 **Leo:** I wish I could see Karim again  
 **Leo:** He’d get it  
 **Markus:** Is that the guy you were telling me about?  
 **Leo:** … yeah  
 **Markus:** You really have it bad for him  
 **Leo:** yeah I do  
 **Markus:** And I’m guessing you can’t contact him  
 **Leo:** I don’t even know his last name  
 **Markus:** Do you remember anything else about him?  
 **Leo:** not anything that would help find him  
 **Markus:** I’ll keep an eye out  
 **Leo:** Thanks  
 **Markus:** But why would you be jealous of me?  
 **Leo:** haven’t we gone over this  
 **Markus:** Besides Dad  
 **Leo:** …  
 **Leo:** you’re literally an android  
 **Markus:** And?  
 **Leo:** You’re perfect! You could have anyone you wanted!  
 **Markus:** Not really  
 **Leo:** wdym  
 **Markus:** You mean that in a sex way, right?  
 **Leo:** yeah  
 **Markus:** What do you know about android sexuality?  
 **Leo:** at some point someone made robo-parts and started smacking them on androids  
 **Markus:** Thank you for that image  
 **Leo:** that not how it works is it  
 **Leo:** *that’s  
 **Markus:** Not for all androids  
 **Leo:** shit  
 **Markus:** And “smacking” a biocomponent on would do nothing for an android who’s not set up to have one.  
 **Leo:** I can’t tell if you’re talking from experience or not  
 **Markus:** Does it matter?  
 **Leo:** no that’d be weird  
 **Leo:** sorry for bringing that up  
 **Markus:** You didn’t know  
 **Markus:** Just don’t go around asking random androids  
 **Markus:** I know someone who would probably punch you in the face  
 **Leo:** that would hurt like a bitch  
 **Markus:** But that’s enough about me  
 **Leo:** and I didn’t even want to tell you about my love life  
 **Leo:** but you answered that  
 **Leo:** that was really shitty of me  
 _”Markus?”_ North’s voice cut through the silence of the room.  
 **Markus:** I need to go now, but we could talk more later if you want to.  
 **Leo:** Maybe. I’ll let you know.  
 _”Is everything okay?”_ Markus asked North.  
 _”For now. Could you send me the memory blocking program?”_  
 _”Here,”_ he said, sending over the program.  
 _”Thanks. I’ll see you soon.”_  
The question of what North wanted the program for briefly crossed Markus’ mind, but flitted away just as quickly. He could just ask her later. But the fact that Leo came to _him_ for advice? Now _that_ was interesting. He didn’t know much about Leo’s social life, but he always just assumed that his brother had friends that he could go to about this sort of thing. _Or maybe he trusts me enough to come to me over his friends?_ Either way, he hoped that Leo would continue to trust him.  
Another voice cut through the quiet. _”Max is back! We’re coming up now,”_ Josh said.  
Markus thought back to the day he’d arrived at Jericho. After greeting him, Josh had gone and sat with a boy whose biocomponents were due to shut down if they didn’t _do_ something. He’d noticed Josh’s tears as he said goodbye to Max before they’d left for the Cyberlife warehouse, and understood. They might not make it back in time. Josh might not be there for Max at the end. They might not find any YK500 parts, and how fair would that be to a literal child who hadn’t done anything wrong except exist?  
But they did it. He’d survived. And he was back.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warnings: None

North knocked on Echo and Ripple’s door. _”Come in,”_ Ripple said, the door sliding open. North stepped out of her shoes and sank her toes into the fluffy carpet. Even though the two kept busy managing New Jericho’s Android Housing Department, they’d spent a considerable amount of time decorating and redecorating their small space, making the once-clinical room into a homey apartment. Several shelves painted in bright colors hung from the wall above their bed, each filled with unique little trinkets, like statues of a butterfly and a deer painted with matching roses.  
“North!” Ripple pulled her sister into a quick hug, before stepping back to let Echo do the same.  
“What’s going on?” North asked, noticing how Echo’s smile faltered at the question.  
Echo and Ripple glanced at each other, their LEDs swirling yellow. “Do you remember how, after the revolution, some of the androids who were in the camps mentioned a human helping them escape?”  
North nodded, but furrowed her brow. “I thought we determined that it was actually an android, and that there were memory issues because of the trauma.”  
“That’s what we thought… but a human contacted me recently, claiming to have been at the Hart Plaza camp helping androids escape.”  
“All the androids who reported this were at that camp,” Ripple added.  
“What does the human want?” North asked, a million horrible scenarios flooding her mind. _Those don’t make sense. If they apparently helped androids, they wouldn’t try to… use us later._  
“Her name is Amira Fares. She’s a university student majoring in journalism, and runs an ASL news broadcast. She contacted me because she wants to run a story about my deviation in response to graffiti that’s been popping up.”  
“We don’t have enough details to be able to confirm that she was the one at Hart Plaza, but everything else she said checks out,” Ripple added. “I’d show you, but…”  
“We might have a solution to that problem. Let me contact Markus.”  
_”Markus?”_  
_”Is everything okay?”_  
_”For now. Could you send me the memory blocking program?”_  
_”Here.”_  
_”Thanks. I’ll see you soon.”_  
“Markus created a program to control which memories are able to be passed through an interface,” North explained. “It seems to be working so far, but it hasn’t been tested much.” North and Ripple interfaced, North passing the program’s code over while also using it to block any of Ripple’s memories from coming through.  
“Let’s try it,” Ripple said, taking North’s hand again after a moment.  
_A video of a hijabi woman in her early twenties in front of a neutral gray background. She begins signing. “Today is Tuesday, November 9th, 2038. Yesterday, a group of androids infiltrated Stratford Tower, where Detroit’s Channel 16 broadcasts from. They interrupted the channel’s TV programs to deliver a message.” A picture of Markus without his skin appears in the corner of the broadcast while she continues signing. “The androids asked for several human rights, including being recognized as alive, freedom of speech—“ The video cuts out._  
“Did her broadcast actually cut out like that?” North asked.  
“Yes. Then the videos stopped completely – until recently. In addition to daily news broadcasts like this one, she’s also been doing special reports once a week.”  
“The special reports are all related to the revolution and android rights in some way. She wants me to appear on one of them,” Echo explained.  
It all seemed reasonable, but there was still one thing bugging North. “How was she able to contact you?”  
“I don’t know. She said she got the information from another android, but we’re not sure who. I don’t think it’s anyone from New Jericho.”  
“I’ll look into it. It doesn’t sound like a security breach, but until we find out who gave her your information, we can’t rule it out.” North made an objective to look into it more later.  
Echo nodded. “I’m just not sure what to do. With all the hate speech that’s been going around lately about us… I’m not sure that it would be safe to talk about it publicly.”  
“I get it. I think it’s okay to keep talking to her for now, see to what extent you can remain anonymous. But… are you _ready_ to talk about it?”  
Echo paused. “I think… I think I’m ready to talk. Ripple and I have talked a lot about it—“ she squeezed her girlfriend’s hand “—and it’s gotten easier, with time. I don’t know if I’m ready for people’s reactions, if that makes sense. Even if nothing violent happens, words still hurt. I can fight, but I can’t forget.”  
_She words it so much better than I ever could._ “I trust you, and I know that you’ll be able to represent us to the world. Whatever you decide, I know you’ll make the right choice.”  
“Thank you, North. I think I need some more time to think about it, and I know you probably have other things you need to do…”  
“Let me know if you need anything else, okay? I always have time for you.” North gave each of them a quick hug before leaving the room. _Amira Fares… she seemed familiar. Maybe I’ve seen her here with other journalists before?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: says I'll be updating  
> Also me: has so much anxiety and executive dysfunction that I literally can't edit and post a chapter I've already got typed up  
> But I do have one announcement! DBH rarepairs week is coming up and I've already written a story for each day (that's what my sleep during spring break went towards, lol). A couple of them will be compliant with this series, so I'll be putting those in a separate series that I'll link into the description for this series.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warnings: None

Josh ran to the elevators. _This is urgent, but only I got alerted?_ He jabbed the down button. _Come on…_ Finally the doors opened, and he stepped into the elevator, hitting the button for the lobby. _And it’s strange that I didn’t get any more information on what the situation was…_ The elevator crept downwards until it stopped at a different floor to let someone else on. _What’s going on? This feels bad…_  
The elevator doors opened at the lobby. He tapped his foot as the other android stepped out first, but he followed closely behind. The lobby was on the busier side today, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Josh walked towards the reception desk, then noticed that two of the androids standing near it looked awfully familiar.  
 _”Maxine?”_  
 _”Josh!”_ The YK500 ran over to him, the blue light of her LED blinking with joy.  
Josh knelt down to hug her, feeling tears well up in his eyes. _”I thought something bad might have happened to you when you didn’t show up at the church after Jericho got attacked.”_  
 _”I wanted to stay where you told me to, but then there were these strange noises, and everyone started running and shouting.”_ Josh could feel tears on his shirt where she’d started crying.  
 _”You did the right thing. I tried to get to you, but a soldier got in my way. Then we had to escape before the ship blew up.”_  
 _”I heard Markus’ message about how to get out. I tried to stay nearby, and then John found me. Since he helped you find the parts I needed, I thought I could trust him.”_  
Josh glanced up at the other android. “Thank you for taking care of her. Where have you been?”  
“I got us out of town,” John said, “So that we’d be farther from the camps. It took us a little while since we had to avoid soldiers and people evacuating, but eventually we found a house out in the country that seemed like it had housed androids at one point. Even though the owners weren’t there, was the safest place, so we stayed until it was warm and safe enough to come back.”  
 _”There was a tree with funny looking balls on it that we didn’t know what it was, and beds, and so much room to run around and play tag! I had to teach John how to play, though.”_   
Josh laughed. Kids were definitely something. He understood why Simon missed his. Then he noticed how uncomfortable John seemed. _”Are you okay?”_ he asked.  
 _”It’s a lot, with so many androids around. I’m just not used to it.”_  
 _”We have plenty of rooms around. We could find a quieter one for you to stay in.”_  
 _”Yeah.”_ John paused. _”Maxine has a lot of energy. Taking care of her was exhausting. I’m glad I could help her, but I knew I couldn’t do it forever.”_  
 _”Have you two talked about it?”_  
 _”I asked her if she had someone she considered a parent, and she said you.”_  
Josh turned back to Maxine. _”Do you want to stay with me? Like… a family?”_  
 _”Yes!”_  
 _”Okay. Let’s help John get a room for himself, then we’ll get you settled in.”_

* * *

Once John had gotten his room, Maxine pulled Josh aside. _”I want to… um… you know… tell people,”_ she said, suddenly shy.  
 _”Okay. I’ve been hanging out with Markus, Simon, and North today. Do you think you want to try telling them first?”_  
She nodded. _”Yeah. Where are they?”_  
 _”They’re on one of the upper floors right now, where we have our rooms. You could probably sleep in my room, if you wanted.”_  
 _”Yes!”_  
 _”Okay.”_ The two of them got on an elevator. _”Do you want to practice what you’re going to say?”_  
She thought for a moment. _”Hi, I’m Max, but I like going by Maxine better, and I’m a girl.”_  
 _”That sounds good.”_ Josh realized he should probably give his lovers a heads-up about Maxine. _Would they want to consider her our child, instead of just mine? Will she think of them as her parents?_ He sent them a message. _”Max is back! We’re coming up now.”_  
The elevator shuddered a little. Josh glanced over at Maxine, who was standing with her knees bent, poised to jump again. _”You’ll break the elevator if you keep jumping in it.”_  
She stopped and frowned at him. _”That’s no fun.”_  
 _”We’ll have lots of other fun things to do. Have you ever played video games?”_  
She shook her head and looked at him curiously.  
 _”You can try some, if you want. We could also get you some books to read.”_  
The elevator arrived at their floor. One of Serenity’s noises echoed down the hallway, and Maxine looked around curiously as she stepped off the elevator. Not seeing the source of the noise, she ran off in the direction of the sound.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Simon learns that Maxine is alive and mentions that they weren't able to get her a replacement vocal component. While he's happy for Josh, he also misses the girls he looked after, Gabriel and Amber, and talks to Josh about how Markus had met Gabriel as one of the anti-android protestors and how Amber was good at writing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've created a series for my short stories that are compliant with this series [here](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1682923). A couple of them have some connections with this chapter, so I'd highly suggest reading them ;)
> 
> Content Warnings: android blood, skin picking

Simon walked down the hall, Serenity lumbering along beside him. _”You could’ve gone walking around alone, you know. You don’t need to stay with me all the time.”_  
 _”I wanted to make sure you got up and moved around. I didn’t want your joints to lock up.”_  
He stopped walking. _”You knew about that?”_  
 _”How could I not?”_  
Simon was about to say something when Josh interrupted. _”Max is back! We’re coming up right now.”_  
 _Max?_ He had no idea that the YK500 was still alive. After stealing the truck of parts from Cyberlife, they’d been able to get Max a lot of the repairs he’d needed, though his voice required more specialized parts than they had access to. Josh would step out of their planning sessions periodically to check on the YK500, but Simon never really spent time with Max, and assumed he hadn’t made it after Jericho had been attacked. The thought of that losing a child made tears well up in his eyes.  
 _”What’s wrong?”_ Serenity asked.  
 _”Nothing.”_  
Serenity nuzzled his arm, where he noticed drops of thirium beading up. He pulled his other hand away, noticing thirium on his finger tips.  
 _”Okay, fine. I just… I miss Gabriel and Amber. They’re like daughters to me. Now everyone else – Josh, North, Markus – they all have their families back. But I don’t.”_  
 _”You should tell them how you feel.”_  
 _”When? Josh is going to want to spend all his time with Max now.”_  
 _”YK500s have to sleep more than adult androids do.”_  
 _”You’re right.”_ The elevator dinged. _”Thanks.”_  
A set of light footsteps darted down the hall. A little girl ran up to the two of them, her ponytail streaming behind her. _She looks almost like Gabriel, if I’d been around when she was that young. If she’d been--_ The girl turned to Serenity, giving Simon a clear view of her LED, which was now blinking an excited yellow.   
“Maxine! You need to wait for me,” Josh said, trailing after her. Maxine’s LED returned to blue, and she started climbing on Serenity’s back.  
 _”Is it okay that she’s on you?”_  
 _”Yes, for a little bit,”_ Serenity replied.  
Simon put a hand on Josh’s shoulder as he reached to grab Maxine. “Serenity says it’s okay.”  
“Okay.” _”I’m just worried.”_  
 _”You have to let kids take risks at some point. They won’t ever make it anywhere if they don’t.”_  
 _”You had two girls, right?”_  
 _”Yes.”_ He was surprised Josh had remembered. He didn’t mention them often.  
 _”Should I have asked before I brought her back?”_  
 _”No, she needed a place to stay. She should… she should stay with us.”_  
Josh’s hand reached out for Simon’s, but froze as it touched his arm. _”We need to get this cleaned up,”_ Josh said.  
 _”I’m sorry. I should’ve noticed I was doing it, but I didn’t.”_  
 _”You don’t have anything to be sorry for.”_ Josh paused. Simon noticed Maxine’s LED turn yellow before she clambered down from Serenity’s back. _”She has something she wants to tell you.”_  
 _”My name is Maxine, and I’m a girl!”_ Maxine said excitedly in Simon’s head, using a slightly higher-pitched voice like the “female” YK500s had.  
 _”I’m Simon.”_ He noticed North approaching them. _”And that’s North,”_ he said, pointing to her.  
Maxine ran over to North, LED blinking wildly. North froze in… shock? Surprise? _”She’s going to have to get used to children.”_  
 _”I think she will.”_ North looked up and made eye contact with Josh for a moment before looking back down at Maxine. _”She’s going to take Maxine back to Markus. Let’s get you cleaned up.”_  
Simon nodded, fidgeting uncomfortably as they walked to his room.  
 **Warning: Processing Power Reaching Capacity**  
Simon froze. _Not again… it hasn’t been that long since it happened last…_  
 **Disabling Auxiliary Processing Functions**  
 _”Simon? What’s wrong?”_  
 _”We need to get to my room. Now.”_  
Josh placed an arm protectively around Simon’s shoulders. _”What’s going on?”_  
 _”Not enough processing power.”_  
They made it to Simon’s room, going slowly in hopes that it would take less of a hit on his processors.   
**Disabling Interface Systems**  
Josh cleaned off the thirium rather quickly but gently. _”It’s not glowing like it did last time,”_ he said, referring to Simon’s exoskeleton, which usually glowed blue with an interface request upon contact with another android.  
Simon was about to reply when the alert came up.  
 **Disabling Wireless Communications**  
“My systems are disabling.”  
“Does the processing power have to do with why you were…?” Josh asked, gesturing to Simon’s hand and arm.  
He hadn’t considered that. “I was thinking about—“  
 **Disabling Voice Modulation**  
“Simon?”  
He switched to the ASL module. “My daughter Gabriel,” he signed. “I want to see her again.”  
 ** _Processing Power at Acceptable Levels_**  
 ** _Enabling all functions…_**  
He manually disabled a few that he didn’t need, not wanting his used processing power to spike again.  
“Are you okay?” Josh signed.   
“Yes,” Simon said with his voice. Seeing only a minimal increase in processing power used, he continued talking. “Seeing Maxine… she reminded me of her.” Simon smiled weakly. “Gabriel was my older daughter. She ran away the night that I deviated. Markus saw her once, before the revolution. She was with some anti-android protesters.”  
“And the other one?”  
“I assume she’s still with her parents. I don’t know if they left the city or if they’re still at their house.”  
A memory started playing inside of his head. _”Simon, can you read my poem? Mom’s going to be mad if there’s any mistakes…” “Of course, but I need to switch the laundry first. Wait for me?”_ That was also what North had said, when this had happened before helping RK900 to deviate. None of the other times had anything to do with the family. _It must have been a coincidence._  
“Do you… want to try to go back and find out?”  
Simon shrugged. “Part of me does. Part of me doesn’t know what I’ll find there, and is too scared to find out.”  
“It’s your choice. But it might give you some answers.” Josh took Simon’s hand and started lightly tracing the star tattoo. “You can think about it more, if you need to.”  
“But look where thinking got me.” He chuckled weakly, glancing down at the patched-up plastic of his arm. _That won’t hold forever._  
“We’ll figure this out, okay? One day at a time.”  
Simon reached out and pulled Josh in, giving him a firm kiss.  
“What was that for?”  
“You sound so poetic sometimes. It’s beautiful.”  
This time, Josh kissed Simon. “ _You’re_ beautiful. Like those bluebells you made your flower crown out of.”  
“You didn’t think they were silly?”  
“I noticed the meanings. You’re a little poetic yourself.”  
Simon pulled back. “I spent a lot of time with Amber, the younger daughter. She was amazing at writing. Not even for her age. Just… amazing.”  
“And she wrote poetry?”  
“Yes. She even did competitions.”  
Josh squeezed Simon’s hand. “I can’t wait to meet her.”  
Hopefully she’d waited for him.


End file.
